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I am still hanging but behind on crunches. I think we need to repeat this challenge in January. Great New Year's resolution.

Thanks Butter. I am getting a massage on Monday and this will be one of many areas treated. This will be my first massage after surgery. I am now 8 weeks out.

Hello Sheldon, Congratulations on your surgery. I am happy to read that you had no complications. I hope this continues for you. I was scared also going into surgery. I was a revision patient having my lap band removed and the sleeve performed in the same procedure. Going in there was a 10% chance my doctor could not do both at the same time. This unknown bothered me a lot. I now work in project management and you try to identify risks in advance and have a plan for when they happen. Working in this area now has also helped me with patience. I think what I imagined was a lot worse than reality.

Nancy, this may be a good time to learn to cook. When you make the food you have control over what goes into it. When it is prepared by others, it tends to not be as healthy and made with low fat items.

Rachel, The subject of this topic caught my eye. I see from your post above it still shows you as a male. You may want to check your profile again. Maybe the change did not get saved, or you might log out and tback in to see if it changes.

Onedaycloser, I am not sure how far out you are from your surgery, but if a food does not agree with you the first time, wait a while and try it again. The first time I had an egg, I added milk and some cheese to help make them moister and cooked on a low heat.

Congratulations on your surgery. I know for me also the pain was not as bad as I had expected. I hope this continues for you. Good luck on your weight loss journey.

Sbailey, do you know how long your pre-op diet is? I had a three day one that included liquid and Protein shakes. When I had my lap band it was for a week and did not include any protein. You will find that the first few days are the most difficult and it does get easier. Others have food included in their pre-op diet. There is such a variety of what foods you can have and length. We get through it but sometimes it is a struggle. You may be worrying about something that won't be an issue for you when the time comes. It is a time to start making changes to your diet, because you will need to do so post-op. Think of the reasons why you chose the surgery to help you through this time. Also keep in mind the long-term goals of being health and it helps. Good luck to both of you and please keep us posted on how you are doing.

Thanks Laura for making the change for Nancy.

Farmgirl, Glad to hear about your flat tummy. I will get there someday, but not in the near future. I want to get my weight stabilized before having plastic surgery. If you feel up to answering at this time, how long did you wait between losing your weight and having your tummy tuck? If you don't feel up to it, please answer later.

Nancy, Here is the url to the pre and post-op diets. http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/389-pre-op-post-op-diets/ I have seen so many different members be able to eat different foods at different times. There does not appear to be much consistency in pre and post-op diets. You can search the entire forum for ideas. The most important thing is to follow the guidelines your doctor or nutritionist give you as far as what and when you can eat it. I can tell you what my doctor recommended but it may be different from what your doctor told you. What ever your doctor says should trump anything anyone else tells you. 1st week right after surgery -- broth, buillion, sugar free Jello, crystal light, Propel, Dasani Aquafina flavored Water, K2 Protein water, sugar free popsicls, defaffeinated coffee or tea and 1/2 cup Liquid Protein supplement 3 x a day when no nausea was present. 2nd week Full liquids. 4-6 ounces of protein supplement two to three times a day as a snack in between meals. Vegetable juice, skim or 1% milk, low carb yogurt, Soup blended, cream of wheat/thin oatmeal or grits very thin and watered down. No added sugar fugdesicles, no sugar added hot chocolate, no sugar applesauce. 3rd week. tuna, soft baked fish like tilapia, cod, orange roughy, eggs, cheese, low fat 2%, cottage cheese, low sugar nut butters, banana, canned fruit without skin in their own juice, canned vegetables, sugar free pudding, mashed potatoes and low Fiber crackers like saltine or Ritz. I will post the later weeks in a bit.

I have not experienced burping since I have had my surgery, but have seen many people who do. I am 8 weeks out now. I know that hiccups can occur when you drink or eat too fast. When I first had my surgery, I did not care for the taste of plain Water. I added Koolaid flavor drops and still do sometimes. Now, I can drink plain water also. I still experience dry mouth at night. Good it does get better. Ladyd, my doctor and nutritionist does not want me to have anything citrus for three months. Probably due to the acidic nature. I didn't ask them why, so this is my guess.

Hello Suko, This forum may give you some answers. http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/288108-lapband-vs-sleeve-vs-bypass-surgery/?hl=sleeve%20over%20band There are several other posts out there. I had a band and now have the sleeve. I am much happier with the sleeve vs. the band. When I lose 17 more pounds, I will have lost as much weight with my sleeve as I did for the entire 6 years I had my band. My band slipped, I had heartburn from the slip for over three years. None with the sleeve. No problems with food getting stuck or throwing up. This may also be due to I know how to chew my food well and did not have the learning curve most new weight loss surgery patients experience.

Maybe you should try posting something in the post op thread you might just find someone.. who has but in the preop thread I kind of doubt anyone had expiernce with that doc...good luck on your surgery Did you try the search surgeon on the site? Here is the URL. http://www.bariatricpal.com/surgeons/

Mary, You're right this is a support forum. You have a plan in place. You asked if this is a step toward a slide down a slippery slope, and the answer is "yes." It can start with one slip up You can search this forum and see many a person who says they stay away from certain foods because they are triggers or they feed an urge like carbs or sugar and then they lose control. As ProudGranny said pizza is a hot topic on the site. I have seen posts ream people for eating something even when fully healed. I don't believe that one of us posting to this reply did that to you. Sometimes when you post you get an answer you may not like because it isn't what you want to hear. When I was in the hospital an aide told me about a person who ate seafood too soon, came back through the ER and wound up dying so I worry about people who eat foods too soon. We are trying to be helpful and help you and give support. If that is preachy, it wasn't intended that way.

Here is the url to the Gastric Plication Surgery Forum http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/6-gastric-plication-surgery-forums/

I share with my husband. I have become a very cheap date to take out for dinner. If I do have left overs, I get three sometimes four meals out of it.

Sometimes I wake up at night and my mouth is so dry I have to get up and get a drink. I also take a medicine which gives you a dry mouth so it may be a side effect. I did not get eggs until the soft stage. Some people have problems with eggs. I was fortunate and could eat them. I have some days where I can eat two eggs over mediumand others when 1 egg scrambled with cheese fills me up.

12 miles on the bike and 6 miles walking this week. I am on vacation this next week so will be doing some extra moving and riding. Will make my goal this month.

GG, Enjoy the ride to get to goal. Don't rush the process. I have learned a lot of patience through my work. I work in project management and yes you want to get everything done quickly, but it has to be correct and approved by so many people. This takes time which has helped me not want instantaneous results. When I met with my surgeon's PA at my last visit, I mentioned my goal. She suggested first hitting a goal 20 pounds higher. I have weighed that goal before and know I won't be happy at it. One of my goals is to have a normal BMI which seems like a lifetime ago since I had one. I tend to be a person too if I don't complete the goal, I can fall off course because I think I didn't make it anyway so this won't hurt. I am working on the messages I send to myself and making myself aware when these messages start to appear. All these message if I listen to them will keep me from reaching my goal or delay it. This time I am not going to sabotage myself and give in to my fat brain.

I had some spotting after my surgery. I am post menopausal so it was quite a surprise. I also had another surgery 11 days after my sleeve so it may have been related to it.

Soft foods can be eggs, cheese, cottage cheese, mashed potatoes, sugar free pudding, low Fiber crackers like Saltines and Ritz, canned fruit in their own juice with out sugar, soft baked fish, and yogurt. These foods were taken from the nutrition book I received from my doctor's office. I got these foods starting day into the third week post-op. If your doctor or nutritionist gave you different foods, follow the plan you were given. You can also search the site for soft food suggestions.Here is the food and nutrition topic forum url. http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/388-food-nutrition/

Hi, I will put my two cents in here. You were only 18 days post-op when you ate pizza. I don't know what stage of food you are supposed to be on at this time. If this is not on the plan at this time, you shouldn't eat it. You are still healing at this time. Most of us had weight loss surgery because we didn't eat healthy before and overdid things around food. Right now is the time to follow your doctor's orders and nutritionist advice. They have been doing this and have a lot of success helping patients achieve their goals. Pushing the limit this early can be dangerous. You can search this forum and see stories, and yes they include death from eating a food too soon. I myself am not willing to take that risk. You get the best results in the first 6 months so try to take advantage of this time period. Form good eating habits so they become the norm for you and more automatic. You will be faced with more instances of making a healthy choice when tempted by other foods. Learn from this and try to do better next time. I am not trying to be preachy but it is important to follow the rules and not think we know better than the doctor this early in the game. I am a revision patient which means that I have had a previous weight loss surgery before my sleeve. I followed the pre and post-op diet to a "T". and I still managed to have problems and had to have my lap band removed.

Linda If you start off weighing less when you had your surgery, you are not going to have a big bang loss like others. If you are a revision patient, most times this is true. One of the worst things you can do is compare yourself to others. It can cause you to be disappointed in your own accomplishments. Here is a link to why comparison is bad for you, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniela-tempesta-lcsw/comparing-yourself_b_4441288.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&ir=GPS+for+the+Soul&src=sp&comm_ref=false There are several others throughout this site. This site will let you see what % of you excess weight loss you have lost which puts this in perspective to your starting weight. http://bea.amaya.com/PercentEWL.html I have lost 27.5 pounds and am 8 weeks out. If you compare my weight to others, I am far behind others. I don't worry because I started at a BMI of 35. According to the calculator I am currently have lost 37% of my excess weight loss. Also, if you did measurements before your surgery, take them and see how many inches you have lost. If you did not take measurements yet, do so now, so you have another benchmark for comparison when the scale does not seem to be moving.

I bought some and personally did not care for it. It is a in a pouch and on the outside says to refrigerate when received. It is a powder that you have to mix with Water.